GameStop suspends PowerPass pre-owned program

Ben Parfitt . RETAIL . 15th November 2017

GameStop’s new pre-owned rental scheme has been abruptly paused and possibly abandoned altogether.

Kotaku reports that the chain yesterday told employees to take down all PowerPass signage. The scheme only launched last week. In a worrying sign for users, those who had already registered are being asked to return their current game to receive a full refund and a free pre-owned game to keep.

Sources speculated to the site that the company’s aging computer network being unable to handle the new system may be to blame for the move, though there is no way of knowing if this is accurate.

“We have elected to temporarily pause the roll out of the new PowerPass subscription service, based on a few program limitations we have identified. We feel this is the right thing to do for now to ensure we are able to provide our guests an exceptional service,” a GameStop spokesperson told Kotaku.

The PowerPass program offered a six-month membership program for $60. Once signed up, members could pick up games from the GameStop’s pre-owned library and play them for as long as they wanted.

There was no limit on how many games can be rented throughout the membership period, although users were restricted to having one game at a time. Furthermore, once the six months came to an end, members got to choose one game to keep for good.

Selections were limited to pre-owned titles found in a physical store and not those found in GameStop’s sizable online inventory, which potentially limited the selection a little.